Dante Alighieri - Poet | Academy of American Poets Academy of American Poets The Academy of American Poets is the largest membership-based nonprofit organization fostering an appreciation for contemporary poetry and supporting American poets. For over three generations, the Academy has connected millions of people to great poetry through programs such as National Poetry Month, the largest literary celebration in the world; Poets.org, the Academy’s popular website; American Poets, a biannual literary journal; and an annual series of poetry readings and special events. Since its founding, the Academy has awarded more money to poets than any other organization. browse poems & poets poet Dante Alighieri The author of La Commedia (The Divine Comedy), considered a masterwork of world literature, Dante Alighieri was born Durante Alighieri in Florence, Italy, in 1265, to a notable family of modest means. His mother died when he was seven years old, and his father remarried, having two more children. At twelve years old, Dante was betrothed to Gemma di Manetto Donati, though he had already fallen in love with another girl, Beatrice Portinari, who he continued to write about throughout his life, though his interaction with her was limited.

The love poems to Beatrice are collected in Dante's La Vita Nuova, or The New Life. In his youth, Dante studied many subjects, including Tuscan poetry, painting, and music. He encountered both the Occitan poetry of the troubadours and the Latin poetry of classical antiquity, including Homer and Virgil . He read Boethius's De consolatione philosophiae and Cicero's De amicitia. By the age of eighteen, Dante had met the poets Guido Cavalcanti, Lapo Gianni, Cino da Pistoia, and others. Along with Brunetto Latini, these poets became the leaders of Dolce Stil Novo ("The Sweet New Style"), in which personal and political passions were the purpose of poetry. He later turned his attention to philosophy, which the character of Beatrice criticizes in Purgatorio. He also became a pharmacist, and in his twenties and thirties took an active part in local public affairs. Like most Florentines during his lifetime, Dante was affected by the Guelph-Ghibelline conflict, a political division of loyalty between the Holy Roman Emperor and the Papacy.

On June 11, 1289, he fought in the ranks at the battle of Campaldino on the side of the Guelphs, helping to bring forth a reformation of the Florentine constitution. After defeating the Ghibellines, the Guelphs themselves divided into two factions: the White Guelphs, Dante's party, who were wary of the Pope's political influence; and the Black Guelphs, who remained loyal to Rome. Initially the Whites were in power and kicked the Blacks out of Florence, but Pope Boniface VIII planned a military occupation of the city. A delegation of Florentines, with Dante among them, was sent to Rome to ascertain the Pope's intentions. While he was in Rome, the Black Guelphs destroyed much of the city, and established a new government. Dante received word that his assets had been seized and that he was considered an absconder, having left the city. Condemned to perpetual exile, Dante never returned to his beloved Florence. An outcast, Dante wandered Italy for several years, beginning to outline La Commedia, his great work.

In 1315, the military officer controlling Florence granted an amnesty to Florentines in exile, but the government of the city insisted that returning expatriots were required to pay a large fine and do public penance. Dante refused, preferring to remain in exile. Six years later, Dante died on September 13, 1321 in Ravenna, Italy, most likely of malarial fever. Unlike the epic poems of Homer and Virgil, which told the great stories of their people's history, Dante's The Divine Comedy is a somewhat autobiographical work, set at the time in which he lived and peopled with contemporary figures. It follow's Dante's own allegorical journey through Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio), and Paradise (Paradiso). Guided at first by the character of Virgil, and later by his beloved Beatrice, Dante wrote of his own path to salvation, offering philosophical and moral judgments along the way.

Dante is credited with inventing terza rima , composed of tercets woven into a linked rhyme scheme, and chose to end each canto of the The Divine Comedy with a single line that completes the rhyme scheme with the end-word of the second line of the preceding tercet. The tripartite stanza likely symbolizes the Holy Trinity, and early enthusiasts of terza rima, including Italian poets Boccaccio and Petrarch, were particularly interested in the unifying effects of the form. Also unlike the epic works that came before, The Divine Comedy was written in the vernacular Italian, instead of the more acceptable Latin or Greek. This allowed the work to be published to a much broader audience, contributing substantially to world literacy. Due to the monumental influence the work has had on countless artists, Dante is considered among the greatest writers to have lived. As the poet T. S.

Eliot wrote, "Dante and Shakespeare divide the world between them, there is no third." by this poet Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri · OverDrive: eBooks, audiobooks and videos for libraries Poetry Nonfiction The Divine Comedy describes Dante's journey through Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio), and Paradise (Paradiso), guided first by the Roman poet Virgil and then by Beatrice, the subject of his love and of another of his works, La Vita Nuova. While the vision of Hell, the Inferno, is vivid for modern readers, the theological niceties presented in the other books require a certain amount of patience and knowledge to appreciate.

Purgatorio, the most lyrical and human of the three, also has the most poets in it; Paradiso, the most heavily theological, has the most beautiful and ecstatic mystic passages in which Dante tries to describe what he confesses he is unable to convey (e.g., when Dante looks into the face of God: "all'alta fantasia qui mancò possa" — "at this high moment, ability failed my capacity to describe," Paradiso, XXXIII, 142)."IN the midway of this our mortal life, I found me in a gloomy wood, astray Gone from the path direct: and e'en to tell It were no easy task, how savage wild That forest, how robust and rough its growth, Which to remember only, my dismay Renews, in bitterness not far from death.." (Dante)IN the midway of this our mortal life,I found me in a gloomy wood, astrayGone from the path direct: and e'en to tellIt were no easy task, how savage wildThat forest, how robust and rough its growth,Which to remember only, my dismayRenews, in bitterness not far from death.Yet to discourse of what there good befell,All else will

 I relate discover'd there.How first I enter'd it I scarce can say,Such sleepy dullness in that instant weigh'dMy senses down, when the true path I left,But when a mountain's foot I reach'd, where clos'dThe valley, that had pierc'd my heart with dread,I look'd aloft, and saw his shoulders broadAlready vested with that planet's beam,Who leads all wanderers safe through every way.Then was a little respite to the fear,That in my heart's recesses deep had lain,All of that night, so pitifully pass'd:And as a man, with difficult short breath,Forespent with toiling, 'scap'd from sea to shore,Turns to the perilous wide waste, and standsAt gaze; e'en so my spirit, that yet fail'dStruggling with terror, turn'd to view the straits,That none hath pass'd and liv'd.

My weary frameAfter short pause recomforted, againI journey'd on over that lonely steep,The hinder foot still firmer. Scarce the ascentBegan, when, lo! a panther, nimble, light,And cover'd with a speckled skin, appear'd,Nor, when it saw me, vanish'd, rather stroveTo check my onward going; that ofttimesWith purpose to retrace my steps I turn'd. Dante - Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com Dante Definitions of Dante 1 n an Italian poet famous for writing the Divine Comedy that describes a journey through Hell and purgatory and paradise guided by Virgil and his idealized Beatrice (1265-1321) Synonyms: Inferno, Canto I - Poems | Academy of American Poets Academy of American Poets The Academy of American Poets is the largest membership-based nonprofit organization fostering an appreciation for contemporary poetry and supporting American poets.

For over three generations, the Academy has connected millions of people to great poetry through programs such as National Poetry Month, the largest literary celebration in the world; Poets.org, the Academy’s popular website; American Poets, a biannual literary journal; and an annual series of poetry readings and special events. Since its founding, the Academy has awarded more money to poets than any other organization. browse poems & poets sign up to receive a new poem-a-day in your inbox sign up Pirate Story by Robert Louis Stevenson Travel by Robert Louis Stevenson Loneliness by Trumbull Stickney Alphabet Poem by Edward Lear poetic forms poem About this poet The author of La Commedia (The Divine Comedy), considered a masterwork of world literature, Dante Alighieri was born Durante Alighieri in Florence, Italy, in 1265, to a notable family of modest means. His mother died when he was seven years old, and his father remarried, having two more children. At twelve years old, Dante was betrothed to Gemma di Manetto Donati, though he had already fallen in love with another girl, Beatrice Portinari, who he continued to write about throughout his life, though his interaction with her was limited.

The love poems to Beatrice are collected in Dante's La Vita Nuova, or The New Life. In his youth, Dante studied many subjects, including Tuscan poetry, painting, and music. He encountered both the Occitan poetry of the troubadours and the Latin poetry of classical antiquity, including Homer and Virgil . He read Boethius's De consolatione philosophiae and Cicero's De amicitia. By the age of eighteen, Dante had met the poets Guido Cavalcanti, Lapo Gianni, Cino da Pistoia, and others. Along with Brunetto Latini, these poets became the leaders of Dolce Stil Novo ("The Sweet New Style"), in which personal and political passions were the purpose of poetry. He later turned his attention to philosophy, which the character of Beatrice criticizes in Purgatorio. He also became a pharmacist, and in his twenties and thirties took an active part in local public affairs. Like most Florentines during his lifetime, Dante was affected by the Guelph-Ghibelline conflict, a political division of loyalty between the Holy Roman Emperor and the Papacy.

On June 11, 1289, he fought in the ranks at the battle of Campaldino on the side of the Guelphs, helping to bring forth a reformation of the Florentine constitution. After defeating the Ghibellines, the Guelphs themselves divided into two factions: the White Guelphs, Dante's party, who were wary of the Pope's political influence; and the Black Guelphs, who remained loyal to Rome. Initially the Whites were in power and kicked the Blacks out of Florence, but Pope Boniface VIII planned a military occupation of the city. A delegation of Florentines, with Dante among them, was sent to Rome to ascertain the Pope's intentions. While he was in Rome, the Black Guelphs destroyed much of the city, and established a new government. Dante received word that his assets had been seized and that he was considered an absconder, having left the city. Condemned to perpetual exile, Dante never returned to his beloved Florence. An outcast, Dante wandered Italy for several years, beginning to outline La Commedia, his great work.

In 1315, the military officer controlling Florence granted an amnesty to Florentines in exile, but the government of the city insisted that returning expatriots were required to pay a large fine and do public penance. Dante refused, preferring to remain in exile. Six years later, Dante died on September 13, 1321 in Ravenna, Italy, most likely of malarial fever. Unlike the epic poems of Homer and Virgil, which told the great stories of their people's history, Dante's The Divine Comedy is a somewhat autobiographical work, set at the time in which he lived and peopled with contemporary figures. It follow's Dante's own allegorical journey through Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio), and Paradise (Paradiso). Guided at first by the character of Virgil, and later by his beloved Beatrice, Dante wrote of his own path to salvation, offering philosophical and moral judgments along the way.

Dante is credited with inventing terza rima , composed of tercets woven into a linked rhyme scheme, and chose to end each canto of the The Divine Comedy with a single line that completes the rhyme scheme with the end-word of the second line of the preceding tercet. The tripartite stanza likely symbolizes the Holy Trinity, and early enthusiasts of terza rima, including Italian poets Boccaccio and Petrarch, were particularly interested in the unifying effects of the form. Also unlike the epic works that came before, The Divine Comedy was written in the vernacular Italian, instead of the more acceptable Latin or Greek. This allowed the work to be published to a much broader audience, contributing substantially to world literacy. Due to the monumental influence the work has had on countless artists, Dante is considered among the greatest writers to have lived. As the poet T. S. Eliot wrote, "Dante and Shakespeare divide the world between them, there is no third." Dante Alighieri , 1265 - 1321 Midway upon the journey of our life I found myself within a forest dark, For the straightforward pathway had been lost. Ah me!

how hard a thing it is to say What was this forest savage, rough, and stern, Which in the very thought renews the fear. So bitter is it, death is little more; But of the good to treat, which there I found, Speak will I of the other things I saw there. I cannot well repeat how there I entered, So full was I of slumber at the moment In which I had abandoned the true way. But after I had reached a mountain's foot, At that point where the valley terminated, Which had with consternation pierced my heart, Upward I looked, and I beheld its shoulders, Vested already with that planet's rays Which leadeth others right by every road. Then was the fear a little quieted That in my heart's lake had endured throughout The night, which I had passed so piteously. And even as he, who, with distressful breath, Forth issued from the sea upon the shore, Turns to the water perilous and gazes; So did my soul, that still was fleeing onward, Turn itself back to re-behold the pass Which never yet a living person left.

After my weary body I had rested, The way resumed I on the desert slope, So that the firm foot ever was the lower. And lo! almost where the ascent began, A panther light and swift exceedingly, Which with a spotted skin was covered o'er! And never moved she from before my face, Nay, rather did impede so much my way, That many times I to return had turned. The time was the beginning of the morning, And up the sun was mounting with those stars That with him were, what time the Love Divine At first in motion set those beauteous things; So were to me occasion of good hope, The variegated skin of that wild beast, The hour of time, and the delicious season; But not so much, that did not give me fear A lion's aspect which appeared to me. He seemed as if against me he were coming With head uplifted, and with ravenous hunger, So that it seemed the air was afraid of him; And a she-wolf, that with all hungerings Seemed to be laden in her meagreness, And many folk has caused to live forlorn!

She brought upon me so much heaviness, With the affright that from her aspect came, That I the hope relinquished of the height. And as he is who willingly acquires, And the time comes that causes him to lose, Who weeps in all his thoughts and is despondent, E'en such made me that beast withouten peace, Which, coming on against me by degrees Thrust me back thither where the sun is silent. While I was rushing downward to the lowland, Before mine eyes did one present himself, Who seemed from long-continued silence hoarse. When I beheld him in the desert vast, "Have pity on me," unto him I cried, "Whiche'er thou art, or shade or real man!" He answered me: "Not man; man once I was, And both my parents were of Lombardy, And Mantuans by country both of them. 'Sub Julio' was I born, though it was late, And lived at Rome under the good Augustus, During the time of false and lying gods. A poet was I, and I sang that just Son of Anchises, who came forth from Troy, After that Ilion the superb was burned.

But thou, why goest thou back to such annoyance? Why climb'st thou not the Mount Delectable, Which is the source and cause of every joy?" "Now, art thou that Virgilius and that fountain Which spreads abroad so wide a river of speech?" I made response to him with bashful forehead. "O, of the other poets honour and light, Avail me the long study and great love That have impelled me to explore thy volume! Thou art my master, and my author thou, Thou art alone the one from whom I took The beautiful style that has done honour to me. Behold the beast, for which I have turned back; Do thou protect me from her, famous Sage, For she doth make my veins and pulses tremble." "Thee it behoves to take another road," Responded he, when he beheld me weeping, "If from this savage place thou wouldst escape; Because this beast, at which thou criest out, Suffers not any one to pass her way, But so doth harass him, that she destroys him; And has a nature so malign and ruthless, That never doth she glut her greedy will, And after food is hungrier than before.

Many the animals with whom she weds, And more they shall be still, until the Greyhound Comes, who shall make her perish in her pain. He shall not feed on either earth or pelf, But upon wisdom, and on love and virtue; 'Twixt Feltro and Feltro shall his nation be; Of that low Italy shall he be the saviour, On whose account the maid Camilla died, Euryalus, Turnus, Nisus, of their wounds; Through every city shall he hunt her down, Until he shall have driven her back to Hell, There from whence envy first did let her loose.

Therefore I think and judge it for thy best Thou follow me, and I will be thy guide, And lead thee hence through the eternal place, Where thou shalt hear the desperate lamentations, Shalt see the ancient spirits disconsolate, Who cry out each one for the second death; And thou shalt see those who contented are Within the fire, because they hope to come, Whene'er it may be, to the blessed people; To whom, then, if thou wishest to ascend, A soul shall be for that than I more worthy; With her at my departure I will leave thee; Because that Emperor, who reigns above, In that I was rebellious to his law, Wills that through me none come into his city.

He governs everywhere, and there he reigns; There is his city and his lofty throne; O happy he whom thereto he elects!" And I to him: "Poet, I thee entreat, By that same God whom thou didst never know, So that I may escape this woe and worse, Thou wouldst conduct me there where thou hast said, That I may see the portal of Saint Peter, And those thou makest so disconsolate." Then he moved on, and I behind him followed. From The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This poem is in the public domain. From The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This poem is in the public domain. Dante Alighieri Library Exhibits :: Dante's Guides Dor_Dante_transported_by_Eagle.jpg Gustave Doré. Dante transported by an eagle. 'There both, I thought, the eagle and myself/ Did burn; and so intense the imagined flames/ That needs my sleep was broken off.' Purg. IX. 29-31. Source: Dante Alighieri, Henry Francis Cary, and Gustave Doré.

Purgatory and Paradise. new ed. New York [etc.]: Cassell & company, limited, 1883. Dor_Beatrice_Canto_II.jpg Gustave Doré. Beatrice ascends to hell and tells Virgil he must accompany Dante on his pilgrimage to the otherworld. 'I who now bids thee on this errand forth,/ Am Beatrice; from a place I come/ revisited with joy. Love brought me thence,/ Who prompts my speech.' Inf. II. 70-73. Source: Dante Alighieri, Henry Francis Cary, and Gustave Doré. Inferno. New Edition. New York. P.F. Collier, limited, 1883. Falvey Memorial Library. Special Collections. Flaxman_The_lunar_sphere.jpg John Flaxman. The Lunar Sphere. Par. II. 29. 'See that a grateful heart to God thou raise/ by whom to this first star we have been led.' Source: Dante Alighieri, Ichabod Charles Wright, and John Flaxman. The Divine Comedy. 5th ed. London: Bell & Daldy, 1867. Falvey Memorial Library.

Special Collections. Flaxman_Beatrice_and_Dante.jpg John Flaxman. Beatrice and Dante. 'But soon thy troublous doubts will I remove'. Par. VII. 22. Source: Dante Alighieri, Ichabod Charles Wright, and John Flaxman. The Divine Comedy. 5th ed. London: Bell & Daldy, 1867. Falvey Memorial Library. Special Collections. St. Bernard of Clairvaux St. Bernard belonged to the Cistercian order, served as the abbot of a monastery in Clairvaux, and was canonized in 1174. His numerous theological works established him as one of the most important church leaders of the twelfth century. In Paradiso XXXI, Dante turns to speak with Beatrice, but finds St. Bernard in her place. He tells Dante that Beatrice has returned to the Empyrean and has instructed him to guide the pilgrim through the final stage of his journey. The Empyrean is shaped like a white rose and is the highest heaven where the angels and the blessed reside. Ascent_to_Primum_Mobile.jpg Sandro Botticelli. Heaven of the Fixed Stars.

Beatrice and Dante Ascend to the Primum Mobile. Par. XXVII. Source: Dante Alighieri, Sandro Botticelli, Mario Casela, Henry Francis Cary. La Divina Commedia or Divine Vision of Dante Alighieri. New York. Nonesuch Press, limited, 1928. Falvey Memorial Library. Special Collections. Botticelli_Asent_to_the_heaven_of_fire_with_Beatrice.jpg Sandro Botticelli. Beatrice and Dante ascend from Garden of Eden and pass through the sphere of fire. Par. I. Source: Dante Alighieri, Sandro Botticelli, Mario Casela, Henry Francis Cary. La Divina Commedia or Divine Vision of Dante Alighieri. New York. Nonesuch Press, limited, 1928. Falvey Memorial Library. Special Collections. Botticelli_Beatrice_and_Dante_in_Heaven_of_Mercury.jpg Sandro Botticelli. Heaven of the Moon: Eternal abode of those forced to break their religious vows. Beatrice and Dante. Par. V. Source: Dante Alighieri, Sandro Botticelli, Mario Casela, Henry Francis Cary.

La Divina Commedia or Divine Vision of Dante Alighieri. New York. Nonesuch Press, limited, 1928. Falvey Memorial Library. Special Collections. Botticelli_Beatrice_explains_to_Dante_where_the_blessed_reside.jpg Sandro Botticelli. Heaven of the Moon: Eternal abode of those forced to break their religious vows. Beatrice speaks to Dante. Par. IV. Source: Dante Alighieri, Sandro Botticelli, Mario Casela, Henry Francis Cary. La Divina Commedia or Divine Vision of Dante Alighieri. New York. Nonesuch Press, limited, 1928. Falvey Memorial Library. Special Collections. Botticelli_Dante_and_Cacciaguida.jpg Sandro Botticelli. Heaven of Mars: Eternal abode of Holy Warriors. Dante reacts to shooting star. Beatrice maintains her composure. Par. XV. Source: Dante Alighieri, Sandro Botticelli, Mario Casela, Henry Francis Cary. La Divina Commedia or Divine Vision of Dante Alighieri. New York. Nonesuch Press, limited, 1928.

Falvey Memorial Library. Special Collections. Botticelli_Dante_heaven of the sun.jpg Sandro Botticelli. Beatrice and Dante in Heaven of the Sun: Eternal abode of the Wise. Beatrice and Dante. Par. XIII. Source: Dante Alighieri, Sandro Botticelli, Mario Casela, Henry Francis Cary. La Divina Commedia or Divine Vision of Dante Alighieri. New York. Nonesuch Press, limited, 1928. Falvey Memorial Library. Special Collections. Botticelli_Dante_converses_with_Piccarda.jpg Sandro Botticelli. Beatrice and Dante in Heaven of the Moon: Eternal abode of those who were forced to break their religious vows. Source: Dante Alighieri, Sandro Botticelli, Mario Casela, Henry Francis Cary. La Divina Commedia or Divine Vision of Dante Alighieri. New York. Nonesuch Press, limited, 1928. Falvey Memorial Library. Special Collections. Botticelli_Dante_in_Fourth_Sphere.jpg Sandro Botticelli. Beatrice and Dante in Heaven of the Sun: Eternal abode of the Wise.

The ascent of Beatrice and Dante. Par. XIV. Source: Dante Alighieri, Sandro Botticelli, Mario Casela, Henry Francis Cary. La Divina Commedia or Divine Vision of Dante Alighieri. New York. Nonesuch Press, limited, 1928. Falvey Memorial Library. Special Collections. Botticelli_Dante_in_Heaven_of_the_sun.jpg Sandro Botticelli. Beatrice and Dante in Heaven of the Sun: Eternal abode of the Wise. Beatrice and Dante. Par. XIII. Source: Dante Alighieri, Sandro Botticelli, Mario Casela, Henry Francis Cary. La Divina Commedia or Divine Vision of Dante Alighieri. New York. Nonesuch Press, limited, 1928. Falvey Memorial Library. Special Collections. Botticelli_Justinian_and_Dante.jpg Sandro Botticelli. Beatrice and Dante in Heaven of Mercury: Eternal abode of the Just. Beatrice's discourse on divine justice. Par. VII. Source: Dante Alighieri, Sandro Botticelli, Mario Casela, Henry Francis Cary.

La Divina Commedia or Divine Vision of Dante Alighieri. New York. Nonesuch Press, limited, 1928. Falvey Memorial Library. Special Collections. Botticelli_Justinian_talks_to_Dante.jpg Sandro Botticelli. Heaven of Mercury: Eternal Abode of the Just. Dante gazes at Beatrice after hearing the Emperor Justinian's discourse on the Roman Empire. Par. VI. Source: Dante Alighieri, Sandro Botticelli, Mario Casela, Henry Francis Cary. La Divina Commedia or Divine Vision of Dante Alighieri. New York. Nonesuch Press, limited, 1928. Falvey Memorial Library. Special Collections. Dor_Canto_IX_Angel.jpg Gustave Doré. An angel descends to hell and rescues Virgil and Dante. 'To the gate /he came, and with his wand touched it, whereat/ open without impediment it flew.' Inf. IX. 87-89. Source: Dante Alighieri, Henry Francis Cary, and Gustave Doré. Inferno. New Edition. New York. P.F.

Collier, limited, 1883. Falvey Memorial Library. Special Collections. Dor_Dante_and_Virgil_Canto_II.jpg Gustave Doré. Virgil and Dante. 'Now the day was departing'. Inf. II. 1. Source: Dante Alighieri, Henry Francis Cary, and Gustave Doré. Inferno. New Edition. New York. P.F. Collier, limited, 1883. Falvey Memorial Library. Special Collections. Dor_Dante_and_Virgil_Inferno_34.jpg Gustave Doré. Virgil and Dante in hell. 'Thence issuing we again beheld the stars.' Inf. XXXIV. 139. Source: Dante Alighieri, Henry Francis Cary, and Gustave Doré. Inferno. New Edition. New York. P.F. Collier, limited, 1883. Falvey Memorial Library. Special Collections. Dor_Dante_and_Virgil_Inferno.jpg Gustave Doré. Virgil and Dante in hell.

'The guide, who mark'd/ how I did gaze attentive, thus began:/ Within these arduous are the spirits, each swathed in confining fire'. Inf. XXVI. 46-48. Source: Dante Alighieri, Henry Francis Cary, and Gustave Doré. Inferno. New Edition. New York. P.F. Collier, limited, 1883. Falvey Memorial Library. Special Collections. Dor_Dante_and_Virgil_leave_inferno.jpg Gustave Doré. Dante and Virgil exit from hell. 'Thence issuing we again beheld the stars.' Inf. XXXIV. 139. Source: Dante Alighieri, Henry Francis Cary, and Gustave Doré. Inferno. New Edition. New York. P.F. Collier, limited, 1883. Falvey Memorial Library. Special Collections. Dor_Dante_and_Virgil_speak.jpg Gustave Doré. Virgil and Dante speak. 'By that hidden way/ my guide and I did enter,/to return to the fair world.' Inf. XXXIV. 127-129.

Source: Dante Alighieri, Henry Francis Cary, and Gustave Doré. Inferno. New Edition. New York. P.F. Collier, limited, 1883. Falvey Memorial Library. Special Collections. Dor_Dante_with_Beatrice_in_Paradiso.jpg Gustave Doré. Dante and Beatrice in Paradiso. 'And I beheld myself,/Sole with my lady, /to more lofty bliss.' Par. XIV. 77-79. Source: Dante Alighieri, Henry Francis Cary, and Gustave Doré. Purgatory and Paradise. new ed. New York: Cassell & company, limited, 1883. Dor_Dante_with_Beatrice_in_Paradiso.jpg Gustave Doré. Beatrice and Dante in Paradiso. 'Such saw I many a face,/ All stretched to speak.' Par. III. 14-15. Source: Dante Alighieri, Henry Francis Cary, and Gustave Doré. Purgatory and Paradise. new ed. New York: Cassell & company, limited, 1883. Dor_Virgil_and_Dante.jpg Gustave Doré.

Virgil and Dante at the Gates of Hell. 'All hope abandon, ye who enter here.' Inf. III. 9. Source: Dante Alighieri, Henry Francis Cary, and Gustave Doré. Inferno. New Edition. New York. P.F. Collier, limited, 1883. Falvey Memorial Library. Special Collections. Flaxman_The_poets_guided_by_an_angel.jpg John Flaxman. The Poets Guided by an Angel: 'Enter' with joyful voice, he said, 'this height/ presents a stair far easier than the rest'. Purg. XV. 35. Source: Dante Alighieri, Ichabod Charles Wright, and John Flaxman. The Divine Comedy. 5th ed. London: Bell & Daldy, 1867. Falvey Memorial Library. Special Collections. Flaxman_the_poets_resting.jpg John Flaxman. The Poets Reposing. 'A step his pillow each of us had made' Purg. XXVII. 73. Source: Dante Alighieri, Ichabod Charles Wright, and John Flaxman. The Divine Comedy. 5th ed.

London: Bell & Daldy, 1867. Falvey Memorial Library. Special Collections. Flaxman_The_Descent_of_Beatrice.jpg John Flaxman. The Descent of Beatrice. 'Dante weep not that Virgil leaves thee...no.../weep not as yet'. Purg. XXX. 55. Source: Dante Alighieri, Ichabod Charles Wright, and John Flaxman. The Divine Comedy. 5th ed. London: Bell & Daldy, 1867. Falvey Memorial Library. Special Collections. Alighieri, Dante (1265–1321) - The Divine Comedy Buy This Book Each sub-section is an arbitrary division, typically of seven Cantos. The Text is fully hyper-linked to the index and notes and vice versa. Each Canto is arranged in paragraphs, with each paragraph headed by the corresponding line reference in the Italian text.

Inferno Cantos I-VII (Virgil, Circles I-IV, Paolo & Francesca, Ciacco) Cantos VIII-XIV (Circles V-VII, Farinata, Pier delle Vigne, Capaneus) Cantos XV-XXI (Brunetto Latini, Geryon, Circle VIII, Manto) Cantos XXII-XXVIII (Vanni Fucci, Ulysses, G. Da Montefeltro, B. De Born) Cantos XXIX-XXXIV (Griffolino, The Giants, Circle IX, Ugolino, Satan) Purgatorio Cantos I-VII (Casella, Manfred, La Pia, Buonconte, Sordello ) Cantos VIII-XIV (The Gate, Nino, Oderisi, Salvani, Sapia, G.

Del Duca) Cantos XV-XXI (Free Will, Nature of Love, Adrian, Hugh Capet,Statius) Cantos XXII-XXVIII (Forese, Bonagiunta, Souls, Guinicelli, Arnaut, Matilda) Cantos XXIX-XXXIII (The Divine Pageant, Beatrice, Lethe, Eunoë) Paradiso Cantos I-VII (The Moon, Piccarda, Mercury, Justinian, Romeo) Cantos VIII-XIV (Venus, Cunizza, Folco, The Sun, Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventura, Dominic, Francis, Solomon, Mars) Cantos XV-XXI (Cacciaguida, Florence, Jupiter, The Eagle, Saturn, Peter Damian ) Cantos XXII-XXVIII (Benedict, Gabriel, Peter, Paul, James, John, Angels) Cantos XXIX-XXXIII (The Empyrean, The River, The Rose, Bernard, The Virgin, The Final Vision) Index Paradiso About This Work The Divine Comedy is Dante's record of his visionary journey through the triple realms of Hell, Purgatory and Paradise.

This, the first 'epic' of which its author is the protagonist and his individual imaginings the content, weaves together the three threads of Classical and Christian history; contemporary Medieval politics and religion; and Dante's own inner life including his love for Beatrice, to create the most complex and highly structured long poem extant. Through the depths of Hell in the Inferno, and upwards along the mountain of Purgatory in the Purgatorio, Dante is guided by Virgil, the great poet of the Classical Roman Empire, exploring, as he does so, the political, ethical and religious issues of his time. Dante in his own life, and in this epic, represents a 'party of one', desirous of purifying the Church on the one hand, and the Holy Roman Empire on the other, yet caught between those two great worldly powers, and turning to literature to make his voice heard. From the summit of Purgatory, Dante ascends in the Paradiso, guided by Beatrice, into the celestial Paradise, where love, truth and beauty intertwine in his great vision of the Christian revelation.

Yet the Commedia is essential reading not merely for Christians, poets, and historians, but for anyone struggling with issues of morality, the ethical framework of society, and the challenge of living the true life. About the Author Born in 1265 in Florence, from which he was banished in 1302, dying in Ravenna in 1321, Dante set the Divine Comedy in the year 1300, when he was thirty-five years old and 'in the middle of our mortal life'. The setting allows him to utilise the past symbolically, exploit the present politically, and anticipate the future in simulated prophecy. The Commedia throughout reflects his love for 'Beatrice' whom he first saw at a young age in a church in Florence, and who came to represent for him Intellectual and Spiritual Beauty. The story of his love for her, her early death, and his inspiration to write the Commedia are told in his prose work La vita nuova, The New Life, of 1294.

While never returning to Florence after his banishment, the city remained a crucial focus of his thoughts and memories, and while eating the 'bitter bread' of exile his meditations on that city, on Beatrice, and on the moral challenges of his age, led as he had promised in The New Life, to this great work, of explanation, aspiration, and ultimately spiritual exaltation. Also See: Meditations on the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri , by A. S. Kline In these meditations on Dante's Divine Comedy the author provides a companion volume to his translation of the great work itself, guiding the reader step by step through the complexities of the Commedia. Aimed not just at the student but also at those who, impressed by its poetry and beauty, simply wish to delve deeper into the meaning and structure of the work, it brings together concepts, factual information, and careful interpretation, to highlight the ideas Dante pursued in creating his masterpiece. The Meditations focus on Dante's role as poet, individual, and ethical thinker, rather than on his religious or doctrinal significance to Christian readers. This neutral stance allows consideration of Dante’s significance to the secular as well as the Christian world, stressing his continuing importance to both.

© Copyright 2000-2002 A. S. Kline, All Rights Reserved This work MAY be FREELY reproduced, stored and transmitted, electronically or otherwise, for any NON-COMMERCIAL purpose. We use cookies to enhance user experience. Continued use of this site implies consent to that usage. Please see our Privacy Policy . © Copyright 2000-2017 A. S. Kline, All Rights Reserved Dante Alighieri: free web books, online Dante Alighieri, 1265-1321 Biographical note Italian poet from Florence. His greatest work, the Divina Commedia (The Divine Comedy), is considered one of the greatest masterpieces of world literature. The Divine Comedy describes Dante's journey through Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio), and Paradise (Paradiso), guided first by the Roman epic poet Virgil and then by Beatrice, the subject of his love and another of his works, "La Vita Nuova." While the vision of Hell, the Inferno, is vivid for modern readers, the theological niceties presented in the other books require a certain amount of patience and scholarship to understand.

Purgatorio, the most lyrical and human of the three, also has the most poets in it; Paradiso, the most heavily theological, has the most beautiful and ecstatic mystic passages in which Dante tries to describe what he confesses he is unable to convey (e.g., when Dante looks into the face of God: "all'alta fantasia qui mancò possa" - "at this high moment, ability failed my capacity to describe," Paradiso, XXXIII, 142). Dante wrote the Comedy in a new language he called "Italian", based on the regional dialects of Tuscany, Sicilian and some elements of Latin and other regional dialects. By creating a poem of epic structure and philosophic purpose, he established that the Italian language was suitable for the highest sort of expression. In French, Italian is nicknamed la langue de Dante. Publishing in the vernacular language marked Dante as one of the first (among others such as Geoffrey Chaucer and Giovanni Boccaccio) to break from standards of publishing in only Latin or Greek (the languages of Church and antiquity). This break allowed more literature to be published for a wider audience - setting the stage for greater levels of literacy in the future.

Works The Divine Comedy: The Vision of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise / translated by Henry Francis Cary; illustrated by Gustave Doré Dante Alighieri - definition of Dante Alighieri by The Free Dictionary Dante Alighieri - definition of Dante Alighieri by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Thesaurus , Encyclopedia , Wikipedia . Dan·te A·li·ghie·ri (dän′tā ä′lē-gyĕ′rē) 1265-1321. Italian poet whose masterpiece, The Divine Comedy (completed 1321), details his visionary progress through Hell and Purgatory, escorted by Virgil, and through Heaven, guided by his lifelong idealized love, Beatrice. Dan′te·an adj. & n. Dan·tesque′ (dän-tĕsk′) adj. Noun 1. Dante Alighieri - an Italian poet famous for writing the Divine Comedy that describes a journey through Hell and purgatory and paradise guided by Virgil and his idealized Beatrice (1265-1321) Want to thank TFD for its existence?

Tell a friend about us , add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content . Link to this page: virtue References in periodicals archive ? This reminded brewery founder Scott Hansen, of 'The Inferno' in The Divine Comedy, in which Dante Alighieri described his tour through the 'seven layers of Hell. Fish brews a smoky, infernal beer. (Weekly Specialty Beer Report) Students tackle short stories by Amy Tan next, and finally they progress to works by William Faulkner or Dante Alighieri, which are now much more accessible to them. In God's country: thanks be to the American Atheist Pearl's top ten books for Dante lovers are, from one to ten, The First Circle by Alexander Solzhenitsyn; Hannibal by Thomas Harris; The Wasteland and Other Poems by TS Eliot; If This is a Man by Primo Levi; The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco; The Undivine Comedy by Teodolinda Barolini; Dante's Testaments by Peter Hawkins; The Poets' Dante, edited by Peter Hawkins and Rachel Jacoff; Frankenstein by Mary Shelley; The Vision of Dante Alighieri by Henry Francis Cary.

Author issues top ten books for Dante lovers Dante Alighieri, on the other hand, celebrated his legacy in exalted terms, arguing that "Christ willed to be born in the fullness of time when Augustus was Monarch. Dante Alighieri - Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com Dante Alighieri Definitions of Dante Alighieri 1 n an Italian poet famous for writing the Divine Comedy that describes a journey through Hell and purgatory and paradise guided by Virgil and his idealized Beatrice (1265-1321) Synonyms:

Question: Which poet guided Dante through Hell in "The Divine Comedy"?
Answer: Virgil